Aon plc $AON Shares Sold by Synovus Financial Corp

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp has significantly reduced its holdings in Aon plc by 75.1% during the first quarter, leaving it with only 3,309 shares valued at approximately $1.32 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Aon, notably Polen Capital Management LLC, which raised its position by a staggering 318.1%, owning over 3 million shares valued at $1.2 billion.
• Aon recently reported earnings of $3.49 per share, exceeding expectations and showing a 10.5% year-over-year revenue growth to $4.16 billion for the quarter.

Synovus Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON - Free Report) by 75.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,981 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in AON were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of AON by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,158,943 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $775,406,000 after acquiring an additional 183,442 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,906,000 after acquiring an additional 6,764 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AON by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 39,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,661 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems increased its stake in shares of AON by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 32,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,712,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AON in the 4th quarter worth $1,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.14% of the company's stock.

AON Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AON traded up $0.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $367.16. The stock had a trading volume of 774,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,250,791. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $323.73 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business's 50-day moving average price is $361.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.61. The company has a market cap of $79.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.75, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.87.

AON (NYSE:AON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. AON had a return on equity of 50.91% and a net margin of 15.54%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Aon plc will post 17.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $0.745 dividend. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. AON's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AON. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $438.00 price target (up previously from $436.00) on shares of AON in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised AON to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AON from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $400.00 to $426.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of AON in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $402.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AON currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $412.69.

About AON

Aon Plc engages in the provision of risk, health, and wealth solutions. It focuses on risk capital including claim management, reinsurance, risk analysis, management, retention, and transfer; and human capital involving analytics, health and benefits, investments, pensions and retirement, talent and rewards, and workplace wellbeing.